Roses

lily6

I planted a David Austin climber Tess of the D'urbervilles in May.It has flowered twice four blooms each time, these have been very top heavy for the stems. The plant has been fed with slow release rose fertiliser.Would it be wise for me to prune right down to beef up the stems for Spring? Keen to get it right as I planted to commemorate what would have been my lovely Dad's eightieth birthday.Any advice will be welcomed. 

Dovefromabove

David Austin roses are gorgeous but they do take a few years to develop fully and look their best and be strong enough to hold their heads up.

Are you training the canes out as close to horizontal as possible?

i suspect that there may be no need to prune just yet ... but a photo would be helpful 
  

lily6

Dovefromabove

Ah it’s still a baby and the blooms will have been heavy.
 In years to come it’ll grow stronger and be more able to hold its blooms up. 
While it’s canes are young and pliable you need to train them around the obelisk, rather than straight up, and tie them in (I use soft garden string). This will encourage the formation of more sideshoots which will produce the blooms in the future. That way you’ll have flowers all the way up the obelisk and not just at the top which is what happens if the plant is just allowed to grow straight upwards. 
Tess is a lovely rose and I hope she helps you recall many happy times with your dear dad. 
  

lily6

Thank you Dovefromabove, that's a job for me this morning once the Sun breaks through 🌞